말보다 말씀! 빚보다 빛!

[Key Bible Story] Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!” Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot. (2 Kings 9:23-24)

[Our Story] There was a switch in the room I lived in as a child. It was kept behind a family photo frame on the wall. The frame wasn’t very big, so the handle of the switch was always visible. I often wondered if it was placed that way on purpose—partially exposed—for visual effect. The switch was made from a slender branch of a broom tree. It looked thin and weak, but when powered by my parents’ strength, it would bend backward and snap forward, striking our calves with a surprising sting. Even when I shut my eyes tightly, the pain was hard to bear. Sometimes, even rolling on the floor and exaggerating didn’t help soothe the burning sting on my legs. Once, my two brothers and I had to stand before our father. He didn’t look like his usual gentle self. He told us to bring our switches—each one had our name on it. We rolled up our pant legs and stood before him. He explained why we were being disciplined. He had overheard us using foul language toward one another. He had always emphasized speaking kindly and respectfully, and we had disobeyed. It was the rod of love. With a whoosh, the switch sliced through the air and struck our legs. I clenched my teeth and shut my eyes, but the pain dug deep into my skin. In that moment, I resolved to speak only kind words from then on. Such was the effect of love’s discipline.

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[Bible Story] 2 Kings 9–10 tells the story of God administering the rod of love to Israel. In these chapters, God uses Jehu as His instrument of discipline to judge the unrepentant Omride dynasty of the northern kingdom of Israel. Jehu leads a revolution (2 Kings 9). He strikes down King Joram, who had been wounded in the war against Aram, and casts his body into the field of Naboth. Ahaziah, king of Judah, who had come to visit Joram, is also executed by Jehu. But Jehu’s actions do not stop there. Jezebel, the wife of Ahab and a notorious promoter of idolatry, is also killed. Her body is thrown out of a window and devoured by dogs. Jehu’s revolution continues in 2 Kings 10, where it expands to the remaining descendants of Ahab. He orders the execution of seventy of Ahab’s sons who lived in Samaria. Jehu sends letters to the elders and guardians responsible for these sons, commanding them to carry out the executions—and they obey. He also slaughters forty-two relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah near the pit of the shearing house. As God's rod of judgment, Jehu completes his mission by wiping out all the worshipers of Baal. However, Jehu does not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam. When Jehoahaz succeeds him, Jehu's role as God’s disciplinary rod comes to an end.

[Your Story] Have you ever experienced the rod in God’s hand? God often lifts the rod—not as a punishment for punishment’s sake, but as a means of correcting our misguided lives and worship. That is why we can call it the rod of love. God longs for us to turn away from the things we’ve become fixated on—things we've clung to more tightly than Him. He wants us to return from our idols and become the true worshipers He seeks. Even if it takes the rod, He desires our hearts to return to Him in genuine worship. May we come to understand the heart of God—who, with tears, lifts the rod of love—and may that understanding lead us back to stand as the worshipers He so earnestly desires.

“If they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments, then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes, but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. I will not break my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.”
(Psalm 89:31–34, ESV)

With blessings,
Pastor Hyung Joong Kim
Copyrightⓒ 2025 by Hyung Joong Kim